Colorado to limit proxy weddings to service members, gov’t contractors

Ekaterina Dmitriev and a life-size cut-out of her groom,
cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. The two married via proxy during a satellite
wedding while he was aboard the International Space Station; she was in Texas.(Reuters / Richard Carson ) / Reuters

Colorado is set to restrict proxy marriages to members of the military and government contractors, claiming the change closes a loophole that endangers national security. Critics say the current law isn’t being exploited.

State Rep. Joann Ginal, a Democrat, introduced the bill at the
beginning of April to close a loophole in Colorado’s marriage
laws that “pose a threat to our national security,”
including “the very real risk of human trafficking,” she
said in a
statement. She also worries that the loophole could
“jeopardize youth.”

The
current law allows out-of-state US citizens, including minors
with parental consent, to marry foreign nationals or incarcerated
criminals who aren't eligible to marry in their own state via a
proxy marriage. The only requirement is that one member of the
couple appears before a judge in Colorado with a third party to
act as the proxy for the person who is absent. Both the people
present at the proxy wedding must have a valid ID when applying
for the marriage license.

“This law may seem mundane and harmless, but the implications
of our proxy marriage law affect all Coloradoans,” Ginal
wrote. “First, proxy marriages in Colorado pose a threat to
our national security, as individuals who aren’t citizens of the
United States can obtain marriage licenses and all of the
benefits and protections that come along with it.

“Secondly, there is the very real risk of human trafficking.
There is no requirement or ability to verify that the person not
present for the marriage is entering into the marriage willingly
and is not being exploited,” she continued.
“Additionally, proxy marriage laws jeopardize youth by
allowing individuals under the age of 18 to be married to both
foreign and domestic adults. Lastly, this loophole is allowing
people to bypass marriage laws of other states.”

Ginal’s version would limit proxy marriages to military
members and government contractors who are stationed out of state
or in another country. It would also require both members of the
couple to be at least 18 years old, with one member of the couple
being a Colorado resident.

Lawmakers are worried that the current proxy law can be misused
for human trafficking and immigration fraud, according to AP.

However, Larimer County Clerk Angela Myers told the Coloradoan
that, of the nearly 15,000 marriage and civil union licenses
processed in the county since January 2014, there have been 19
proxy marriages, 11 of which appear to be military-related.

The marriage licenses show that proxy marriages in Larimer
included county residents marrying out-of-state spouses and
non-Coloradans marrying international residents, such as a
Cheyenne, Wyoming man marrying someone from Germany, or a woman
from Fort Wayne, Indiana, marrying a man from Saudi Arabia, the
Coloradoan reported.

Denver Clerk Debra Johnson told AP that her office handles about
50 or 60 a year. She has only noted two marriages she found
unusual. In the first, a Lebanese couple married in Colorado. The
wife, who lives in Michigan, was in attendance, but her husband,
an inmate in a Pennsylvania prison, was not. In the second, an
Arizona woman married a Syrian man who lives in Turkey.

California, Montana and Texas also allow proxy marriages, but
they’re limited to military couples. In March, an episode of
NBC’s ‘The Night Shift’ featured a proxy wedding between a woman
in San Antonio, Texas and her fiancé, who was deployed in
Afghanistan. Colorado is currently unique because of its lack of
restrictions.

S&B Inc., a Pennsylvania company that facilitates proxy
marriages, has helped expedite more than 700 proxy marriages in
Montana and Colorado over the 15 years it’s been in business,
owner Sam Geller told AP. He said he resents lawmakers’
insinuations that couples who wed by proxy are trying to game the
system in some way.

"There are many foreign residents who reside in war-torn
countries facing hunger and starvation," he said in an
email. Rather than creating restrictions, the state should be
praised for giving couples "the opportunity to get legally
married by single proxy in Colorado," he added.

HB15-1327 – Limit Proxy Marriages to Military and Contractors
passed unanimously out of the House of Representatives today!Posted
by Joann Ginal for Colorado House District 52 on Tuesday, April 21,
2015

Couples in proxy marriages are not automatically eligible for
immigration benefits because they are generally not recognized
under federal immigration laws, AP reported. Foreign nationals
married by proxy must still go through the standard process to
obtain legal residency or citizenship.

The Colorado Senate passed the bill with a 35-0 vote on Monday,
after the House had previously passed the bill. Gov. John
Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) is expected to sign the bill into law.